


Life Continues

by SkystormChaosCore



Series: Life Continues [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Brother-Zoned, F/M, Female Chara, Female Frisk, Jealousy, Love Confessions, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Rejection, Sad Asriel, Toriel and Asgore are the best parents, Toriel and Asgore are worried, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, poor Asriel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 10:44:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15265788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkystormChaosCore/pseuds/SkystormChaosCore
Summary: Chara was Asriel's best friend, his sister. It's too bad that wasn't enough for him, and they both got their hearts broken.Forty years later, Asriel falls for his other best friend, his other sister. Maybe this time, things will be different.Then again, maybe they'll be exactly the same.





	Life Continues

One of Toriel's favorite books was about two best friends who grew up together, but realized, as they got older, that their feelings for each other went deeper than just friends. They were too afraid to tell each other, however, because they thought the other didn't feel the same way and didn't want to ruin their friendship. There were other obstacles, of course- class, disapproving parents, stuff like that- but none of that mattered once the truth was finally out. It was a beautiful story, one that Toriel loved telling to her children, so it was one that Asriel had heard many times. Not that he minded- he liked the story, even more so when he started imagining himself and his crush as the main protagonists. It was this story that gave him the courage to confess his feelings. He shouldn't have been surprised that real life wasn't like a book.  
  
It had started as a simple, silly, childish crush. He hadn't even noticed it until the first time he saw her in a dress. It hadn't been a fancy dress, or a particularly flattering dress, just a simple green sundress with short sleeves, a shirt that went just past knee length, and a thick, yellow belt that went around her middle. She had always been a tomboy, and, in fact, until that very moment Asriel had never been certain what gender she was. But the moment she walked out of their room in that dress, there had been no doubt in Asriel's mind, nor was there ever again, that Chara Dreemurr was a girl. She had walked out of the room and Asriel had suddenly felt a strange heat in his cheeks and his heart had started racing.  
  
"Do I look alright?" Chara had asked. "Should I go change?"  
  
"I... um... you look... um..." Asriel's failed him as he fumbled for something to say.  
  
"You look beautiful, my child," said Toriel.  
  
"You're growing into quite the lovely young lady," chuckled Asgore.  
  
But Chara kept looking as Asriel as he said nothing. "It looks bad, doesn't it?"  
  
Asriel somehow managed to find his tongue. "N-No! It looks great! You look great! Really!"  
  
Chara gave a bit of a shy smile. "Well... alright then." She walked away, heading for the door.  
  
Asriel risked a look at his parents. His mother looked worried. His father looked amused. Asriel turned red under his fur and walked away, following Chara. Nothing got past his parents.  
  
The Dreemurr family had gone on a picnic that day. Asriel hadn't been able to take his eyes off Chara the whole time. In a way, he hadn't been able to take his eyes off her ever since. Even today, when she was just in her normal striped shirt and pants, he was captivated by her.  
  
The two best friends were sitting in a bed of flowers, making each other crowns. Asriel's crown was coming along slowly, since he kept stealing glances at Chara. She got this look about her when she was concentrating on something, a determined look would overtake her features and no matter how small the task, it wouldn't break until she was done.  
  
"All done!" Chara placed the flower crown on Asriel's head and smiled at him- a warm, genuine smile, nothing like the creepy grin she sometimes pulled on him as a joke. Chara's eyes went to his flower crown. "Not done yet?"  
  
"Uh... no. But almost!" In reality, Asriel was only about halfway done, but he didn't want Chara to know that. He worked quickly, feeling Chara's eyes on him, and soon finished, placing his crown on her head. Unfortunately, in his haste he had made it sloppily, and within a minute, it fell apart, scattering flowers into her hair. Asriel looked mortified, but Chara just started laughing, and soon, Asriel was laughing along side her.  
  
"Wow. What happened, Asriel? Usually you're good at making these things. Oh well, it doesn't matter." She reached over, and Asriel blushed a little as her fingers brushed his head. Chara pulled apart the flower crown she had made for him, scattering the flowers into his fur. "There. Now we're even."  
  
Asriel sneezed and Chara giggled.  
  
Asriel's face fell, though, and he shifted uncomfortably. "Actually, I do have... something on my mind."  
  
Chara dropped her smile. "Oh? What is it?"  
  
When Asriel didn't say anything, she said, "Go ahead, you can tell me. We're best friends, right? I won't tell anyone, promise."  
  
"Well, I, um," Asriel pulled out a box of chocolates. "I wanted to give you this."  
  
Chara's eyes widened as he handed her the box. "Chocolates? Er... thanks, but... why? It's not my birthday or anything."  
  
"Well, yeah, but, um, well, it's a holiday on the surface called, uh, Volotine's Day? Or... something like that."  
  
Chara's face went slack. Her expression was unreadable. "Valentine's Day?" Her voice was hushed.  
  
"Yeah! Valentine's Day! And, well, I learned that today people give chocolates to people they, uh, like, and, well, I know you like chocolate so, uh, yeah," he finished lamely.  
  
Chara stared at him. Asriel was sweating. "So... you're giving me chocolates on Valentine's Day... because you know I like chocolate?"  
  
"Er, well, yeah! Sort of..."  
  
"Sort of?"  
  
Asriel fidgeted.  
  
Chara looked cautious, scared even, like she was afraid she would set off a bomb. "Asriel... Do you... like me?"  
  
He couldn't do this. In a rushed and nervous voice, he said, "What? Yes! Of course I liked you! You're my best friend! Hahaha..." His voice had become embarrassingly squeaky.  
  
Chara kept her gaze leveled at him, searching him, expression so incredibly like one Toriel had when she knew she was being lied to. The human took after her adopted mother so much, it could be hard to believe the two weren't related by blood. "No... that's not what I meant. What I meant was: Do you  _like_  me? As more than a friend."  
  
"I... well... yeah. I do. Chara, I... I like you. A lot. You're my best friend. More than my best friend. To me. And I... I was wondering if..."  _If you'd be my girlfriend? If you'd go on a date with me?_  "...if you felt the same way."  
  
Only then did Chara look away from him. She took a deep breath, letting it out as a sigh. She was silent for a long time before she finally spoke. "Asriel... thank you, for telling me. But I... no, I don't feel the same way. I'm sorry."  
  
Asriel's face fell, but he shook his head. "No, it's okay. Don't apologize for your feelings. It's not your fault you don't love me."  
  
Chara's gaze snapped back to him. "What?! No! I do! I do love you! I just... I just don't love you in that way. You're like the brother I never had and I love you for that. So please... please don't think I don't care about you because I do. I really do love you, so much, I just..."  
  
"It's just not the same. It's okay, I understand." Asriel gave her a pained smile. As rejections went, it wasn't terrible, but still... it was a rejection. She didn't like him, and if she saw him as a brother, she probably never would. "Thanks." He got up.  
  
Chara frowned. "I'm sorry. If I hurt your feelings, I mean." She held the box of chocolates out towards him. "Do you want these back?"  
  
"No, no. They're yours. I know how much you like chocolate."  
  
Chara put the box on the flower bed and stood up to face him. "We're... still friends, right? I don't want to lose you because of this."  
  
"Don't worry, you won't. I'm not going to stop being your friend. Best Friends Forever, right?"  
  
"Right..."  
  
Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I just... I need to go."  
  
"Asriel..."  
  
The goat monster ignored Chara's voice as he turned and ran from her and the flower bed. He kept running and running until he got home, then he ignored his parents' worried voices and ran to his room, locking the door behind him. He then climbed onto his bed and pulled his knees up to his chest.  
  
"Asriel? My child? Is something wrong?"  
  
Toriel was answered only with the quiet sobs of her son. She tried the door, but found it locked. She knocked again.  
  
"Asriel? May I please come in? My child, please, answer me."  
  
Nothing. Eventually, Toriel decided to leave him alone, let him cry out his emotions in private before trying to talk to him.  
  
Chara came home late, just as dinner was being served. When Asriel refused to come for supper, claiming he wasn't hungry, Chara told her parents what had happened. She hadn't found it within herself to eat the chocolates.  
  
Chara slept on the sofa that night. Asriel was still locked in their room, and even if he wasn't, Chara didn't think she could bring herself to spend the night there.  
  
Late that night, Asriel got hungry and peeked out of his room. He found a piece of butterscotch cinnamon pie outside his door, which he gladly ate before falling into a restless sleep.  
  
The next morning, Asriel came for breakfast and saw he was not the only Dreemurr who had slept badly. He apologized to Chara for making her sleep on the couch, to which Chara responded by calling him a crybaby, and to his parents for making them worry. They asked if he wanted to talk about it, but he said no.  
  
Life continued. That morning's rather tense breakfast was not the end of Toriel and Asgore's attempts to talk to their son about that day's events, but he dodged all of them. It soon became clear that he and Chara simply wanted to forget it had ever happened. Eventually, it was like it never did.  
  
Almost.  
  


*        *        *  


  
Chara was wearing a dress. It was a green with a yellow sunflower print. She since she had been separated from Frisk, she had grown her hair longer. She wore a newer, shinier Heart Locket, given to her by Frisk to replace the one Chara has given to Frisk when she was still a spirit. She smiled more these days, surrounded by many friends instead of just one. Of course, Asriel was still her best friend. Best Friends Forever and all that, though perhaps Frisk now counted in that as well.

She smiled the most around one person, Asriel had noticed. Papyrus. Somehow, she smiled around him more than anyone. Even Asriel.

She was sitting next to the skeleton now, laughing and smiling like she never had around Asriel. The two were sitting on a pier with their feet in the water of the lake, talking and laughing so easily and naturally. It was clear, so clear to everyone that they liked each other. It was just a matter of time.

But Asriel's eyes weren't on Chara now. They weren't on the sun or the sky or the trees or the water. They were on another girl- one with tanner skin, darker hair that she, like Chara, had grown longer since coming to the surface, and striking golden eyes who was wearing a light blue sundress for the picnic.

The Dreemurrs had resumed their habit of going on picnics on the surface, once they had all been reunited with the addition of one. Before long, however, they started inviting all their friends as well. Alphys, Undyne, Sans, and Papyrus were all there at the lakeside, and they certainly made the picnics more lively. Mettaton and Napstablook were usually there too, when they weren't too busy, but they were currently on tour.

Frisk noticed Asriel off to the side, keeping his distance from the rest of the guests. She walked over and sat next to him. "Hey, Asriel. What are you doing over here? Why don't you come hang out with everyone else?"

"Oh... Uh, sorry. Guess I was a bit overwhelmed."

In the distance, Undyne started yelling, going on about something called "shipping". Asriel assumed it was an anime thing, he really had no idea. Still, the rant was pretty amusing, especially when it ended with the fish lady throwing her girlfriend into the lake. Luckily, Alphys was wearing her bathing suit as the group had been instructed to come prepared to swim. Chara and Papyrus, on the other hand, were not currently in their bathing suits and were in the splash zone of the reptile's less-than-graceful entry into the water. As the scientist swam for shore, Chara brushed what water she could from her dress, and Frisk and Asriel giggled from afar, Papyrus suggested to his former mentor that perhaps one should refrain from throwing their girlfriend.

"You can not-throw  _your_  girlfriend if you want, Papyrus. I'll throw mine all I darn well please!"

Chara and Papyrus started blushing.

Asriel sighed. Frisk must have noticed him turn gloomy because she asked, "What's wrong, Asriel?"

"Uh... it's nothing."

Frisk continued to look at him. "Asriel... you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Yeah. I know. You're one of my best friends. We owe everything to you. I'd trust you with anything."

"So tell me what's wrong. I want to help."

The look she gave him was so caring, so loving, that Asriel could, for a moment, imagine he was special. Imagine she didn't give that look to everyone. That one moment was enough. "Well, alright. The thing is..."

The first time Asriel had seen Frisk, he had been a flower. He hadn't thought much of her, just seen a chance to kill a human and take her soul while she was still naive to the workings of magic and the Underground. Of course, he had noticed how much she looked like Chara, he would have been an idiot not to, but being without a soul, he hadn't really cared. He  _did_  care as she journeyed through the Underground and more and more started to remind him of Chara. Somewhere deep in the flower's mind, Asriel had awoken. Not that Flowey had cared, all he had wanted was power. But once he got that power and regained his true form, he had been Asriel, and all Asriel had wanted was to have Chara back. Of course, he had been defeated, had given back the souls he had taken, and had gone back to being a flower.

Though Flowey was back, Asriel did not disappear. He remained a part of the entity, as a kind of temper to the flower's temper. The two struck a balance. Sure, the flower was rude, vulgar even, but Asriel prevented it from doing anything truly bad.

In that time, Asriel had a lot of time to himself, staying isolated in the Ruins as pretty much all monsterkind moved to the surface. As a result, he found himself thinking a lot, and as time went on, he found those thoughts went increasingly to Frisk. How brave she was, how caring and compassionate, how downright determined. The way her golden eyes had looked so sorrowful as he faded away, even after everything he had done to her. He started to think of other things as well. How pretty she was. How her golden eyes always had that sparkle to them. Even before she came back for him, Asriel had developed a massive crush.

Eventually, she did come back. It was only natural that she did; her determination wouldn't allow her to do anything but save everyone, including Asriel and Chara. Flowey, of course, had been extremely rude, but she gave Asriel hope, and that hope was enough for him to allow her to take him up to the surface. With Frisk's determination and Alphys's scientific prowess, it wasn't long before Asriel was given a new body and a new soul recreated from the little of his old one he had left and Chara was separated from Frisk. As it turned out, Chara had been with Frisk the entire time.

There had, of course, been a tearful reunion of the Dreemurr family, plus one newly adopted Frisk. And now, they were all here, having this picnic.

"Well, alright. The thing is, I like you. I like you a lot. I've had this massive crush on you ever since our battle, and I just... I just... Well, I was wondering if you... maybe... felt the same way?"

Frisk's eyes widened. Asriel's heart sank. He knew what her answer would be before she opened her mouth. Her expression was just like Chara's had been. "Oh... Asriel, I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"It's alright."

Frisk sighed. "I'm sorry, but, no. I care about you a ton, but not in the same way. You're like-"

"-the brother you never had?" Asriel gave her a tired smile.

Frisk stared at him. "Well... yes. How did you know?"

"Just... call it a lucky guess." Asriel stood up. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you with this." He turned to go.

Frisk sprang up, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "Asriel, don't say that. Your feelings are never a bother. I still care about you no matter what your feelings for me are, and I want to be there for you, as your sister. Or... if you're not ready for that, I can just be there as a friend."

Asriel smiled. "Thanks, Frisk."

"Now, why don't you come over with everyone else? Mom's going to serve butterscotch pie soon."

"You go ahead." Frisk released him and gave him a worried look. "I'll be fine, I just... need a moment."

Frisk gave him an understanding look and left him alone. Asriel sat back down and watched as she headed back towards her friends. He watched as Sans called her over and she sat down next to him at the edge of the lake.

Frisk smiled the most around Sans. She laughed the most, and she gave him a look that was special. A look she didn't give to anyone else.

Asriel didn't cry. Maybe it was because his time as a flower had changed him, hardened him. Maybe her rejection was just starting to sink in. Or maybe it was because deep down, if he was completely honest with himself, he had known she would respond that way. Because he had seen the way she looked at Sans. Because he knew that the love and compassion she showed him wasn't all that different from what she showed everyone else, if more sisterly. Because she was too much like Chara- just the kind of person he couldn't help but love, and just the kind of person who could never love him the same way.

Asriel almost didn't notice when someone sat down next to him. He looked and saw Chara giving him a worried look. "Oh... howdy, Chara. What are you doing here?"

"Really? Do I need a reason to come talk to my BFF?"

"Well, considering you left your boyfriend to do it, yes, I think you do."

Chara's eyes widened at the bitter edge of Asriel's tone. "Asriel... are you jealous?"

"What? No!"

Chara sighed. "Asriel... please... don't lie to me."

Asriel looked at the ground, ashamed. "Okay... yeah, I'm a little jealous. Jealous of Papyrus... Jealous of Sans..."

Chara followed his gaze to where Sans and Frisk were sitting. Frisk burst out laughing, probably at a pun that the skeleton had made.

Chara sighed. "She never meant to hurt you. And... neither did I. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. ...Heh. I'm pathetic, aren't I? Even when I have a crush on someone else, I still can't let go of my feelings for you."

"Asriel..."

"And not only that, but I'm an idiot, too. For a moment, I actually thought she might feel the same way about me."

"You're not an idiot, Asriel. She has that effect on everybody. She has so much love in her, maybe too much. She makes you feel special, like you're the single most important thing to her in the entire world. She doesn't mean to do it, but I doubt you're the only one who's been disappointed like that."

"Sans is lucky."

"He really is."

"Papyrus is too."

"..."

"I mean it, Chara."

"Thank you. And... Asriel... I'm sorry."

"What? You don't have anything to apologize for."

"Except... I do. I have a guess or two about what you just talked with Frisk about. I saw how she handled it, and I couldn't help but think about how I treated you when you told me how you felt and... I called you my brother, but I wasn't a very good sister. I ignored you because I wanted things to go back to the way they were. That wasn't the right thing to do, and I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. You're not the only one who tried to pretend it never happened. I was being a baby."

"Well, it was still wrong of me, and I want to make it up to you. Starting now, I'm going to be there for you whenever you need me. And I swear, if it's the last thing I do, I  _will_  find you a girlfriend."

Asriel burst out laughing. When he calmed down, he said, "Yeah, you're probably right. I need help. I mean, if I continue at this rate, I'm going to single-handedly make 'brother-zoned' a thing."

Chara dissolved into giggles and snorts, even as she tried to say, "That's not funny, Asriel!" with Asriel soon joining her.

Toriel's voice reached them from a distance. "Children! I'm serving pie! Come now if you want some!"

Chara stood up. "Come on, crybaby. Let's get some pie." She offered her hand.

Asriel looked up at her, smiled, and took it.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on deviantArt.
> 
> This is inspired by something that happened to me. Basically, there was this guy who had been one of my best friends since the third grade. We were friend throughout middle school, but I didn't find out he liked me as more than a friend until my sophomore year of high school, when he asked me out. I only liked him as a friend, so I turned him down. We don't really talk anymore.
> 
> I want to think that Frisk, Chara, and Asriel will ultimately be closer as a family because of this, instead of being pushed apart.
> 
> This is also basically my response to the shipping of these three, whatever form that takes. I don't have anything against it; heck, I even see the appeal; I just see them as siblings.
> 
> Undertale and all its characters belong to Toby Fox.
> 
> Enjoy!


End file.
